Base with Beveled Edges for Conductive Toys

ABSTRACT

A base with beveled edges for conductive toys is a base for toy objects, such as toy figurines and other hand-held objects, that supports a toy object and encourages a user to grab the toy at or above a top portion of the base. In order to encourage a user to grab a toy that is supported by the base, the base includes a beveled edge, such as an inwardly sloping side wall. Thus, when used in conjunction with a touchscreen device, the base encourages a user to grab a toy supported thereon at a distance from the surface of the touchscreen device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and is based on U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 61/748,990, filed Jan. 4, 2013, Attorney Docket No.0621.2117P, entitled “A Base with Beveled Edges for Conductive Toys,”the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to bases for toys, such as figurines andother handheld toy objects. More specifically, the present inventionrelates to a base with beveled edges for conductive toys. The presentinvention further relates to a base with beveled edges for toy figurineswith at least one conductive portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As touch-based or touchscreen technology has become more prevalent insociety, the range of users for the same technology has dramaticallyincreased. In fact, many touch-based tablets and apps are now createdexplicitly for children. Furthermore, some toys, entertainment devices,and other child or baby gear may also now include touch-based portionsor surfaces. For example, any one of an activity table, a game board, afloor in a dollhouse, or an area of a playset could incorporate acapacitive surface. Regardless of the device it is included in, manytouch-based surfaces are configured to detect an object (e.g. a stylus)or a user's finger (i.e., via either pressure or capacitance). In orderto increase the play value of a touch-based device, some devices mayeven recognize some toy objects, as described in more detail in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/053,550, filed on Mar. 22, 2011 (USPublication No. 2011/0227871 A1), entitled Electronic Device and theInput and Output of Data, which is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety. However, many of these devices cannot distinguish betweencontact from an object and contact from a user's finger, and thus willreact to any contact made on the device.

Since many children are still developing their fine motor skills andstrength, a child using a stylus or toy on a touchscreen may have atendency to rest their arm or hand on the touchscreen while he or sheholds the stylus or toy. This may cause the device to malfunction, atleast in the eyes of the child, causing frustration and diminishing theplay value of the touchscreen. Although some conductive toy objectsinclude bases in order to stabilize the toy object when it is placed onthe touchscreen, the toy object still has to be moved. When childrenmove the toy, children have a tendency to grab the toy by this base tomove it, which may result in multiple portions of the child's handcoming into contact with the touchscreen and again causing unintentionalcontact. Thus, a conductive toy with a base that discourages unintendedcontact with a touchscreen device is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, a basewith beveled edges for conductive toys includes a receiving surface fora user's hand, a contact surface for contacting a touchscreen device,and a sidewall extending between the receiving surface and the contactsurface. The sidewall slopes inwards from the receiving surface to thecontact surface such that a user is encouraged to grip the toy figure ateither the receiving surface or a part of the toy figure.

In some embodiments of the above base with beveled edges, the receivingsurface and contact surface are ovular, but in other embodiments, thereceiving surface and contact surface are each polygons with at leastthree sides. In some of the polygonal embodiments, the sidewall is afirst sidewall and the base also includes at least one additionalsidewall. Each of the at least one additional sidewalls extends betweeneach of the at least three sides and the first sidewall and the at leastone additional sidewalls slope inwards at a same angle. In still otherembodiments of the above base with beveled edges, the contact surfacealso includes conductive portions configured to be identified by thetouchscreen device.

In other embodiments, the base also includes a figurine extendingupwardly from the receiving surface. In some of these embodiments, thebase also includes at least one aperture extending through the contactsurface and the figurine includes at least one conductive protrusionextending through the at least one aperture to allow the touchscreendevice to identify the figurine.

According to at least one other embodiment of a base for a toy figure,the base includes a top surface, a bottom surface disposed within theouter periphery of the top surface, and a sidewall that extends betweenthe top surface and bottom surface. The bottom surface includesconductive portions configured to be identified by a touchscreen deviceand the sidewall encourages a user to grab the base at its top surfaceor portions of the toy figure disposed thereabove.

In some embodiments of the above base for a toy figure, the top andbottom surfaces each include a periphery and the sidewall extendsbetween the entire periphery of the top and the entire periphery of thebottom. Moreover, in some of these embodiments, the top and bottomsurfaces are concentric circles of different radii and the top surfacehas a larger radius than the bottom surface, but, in other embodiments,the top and bottom surfaces are polygons with at least three sides andthe sidewall is a first sidewall extending between a first side of thetop and bottom surfaces. In the latter embodiment, the base alsoincludes at least two additional sidewalls that extend between each ofthe remaining sides of the top and bottom. In some of these embodiments,the sidewalls extending between each of the at least three sides slopesinwards at a same angle.

In yet other embodiments of the above base for a toy figure, the base isintegrally formed with a figurine and the figurine extends upwardly fromthe top surface.

According to at least one other embodiment of a base for a toy figurine,the base includes a contact surface configured to rest on a touchscreendevice, a sidewall, and a conductive pathway. The contact surfaceincludes a peripheral edge, the sidewall extends upwardly and exteriorlyfrom the peripheral edge of the contact surface, and the conductivepathway extends through the contact surface such that the base may serveas a conductive conduit between a user touching the toy figure and thetouchscreen device.

In some embodiments of the above base for a toy figurine, the base alsoincludes a receiving surface disposed above the contact surface. Thereceiving surface is configured to receive a toy figurine and thereceiving surface includes an outer periphery that the contact surfacedoes not extend beyond.

In some of the above embodiments, the sidewall extends upwardly aroundthe entire peripheral edge of the contact surface and extends betweenthe peripheral edge of the contact surface an a non-peripheral edge ofthe receiving surface such that at least a portion of the receivingsurface extends beyond the sidewall. In other implementations of theabove embodiments, the toy figurine is received on a first side of thereceiving surface and the receiving surface also includes protrusionsextending from a second side that is opposite the first side andsubstantially adjacent the contact surface. Moreover, in some of theseembodiments, the conductive pathway also includes at least one apertureformed in the contact surface, such that the protrusions may extendthrough the at least one aperture, thereby conductively coupling thefigurine to the touchscreen device. In still further implementations ofthe above embodiment, the receiving surface and contact surface areovular, but in other embodiments, the receiving surface and contactsurface are each polygons with at least three sides.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a basewith beveled edges for conductive toys and a figurine mounted thereonsitting on a touchscreen device, in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIGS. 1A-B depict a bottom perspective views of the base of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows a front perspective view of another exemplary embodiment ofa base with beveled edges for conductive toys with another toy figurinemounted thereon, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a portion of the exemplary embodimentshown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 a depicts a front view of a portion of the exemplary embodimentof FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 b depicts a side view of a portion of the exemplary embodiment ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 4 shows an exploded perspective view of another exemplaryembodiment of a base with beveled edges for conductive toys inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a front perspective view of another exemplary embodiment ofa base with beveled edges for conductive toys in accordance with thepresent invention.

Like reference numerals have been used to identify like elementsthroughout this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Generally referring to FIGS. 1-5, at least one exemplary embodiment of abase with beveled edges for conductive toys is shown. In a preferredembodiment, the base is used in conjunction with a toy figurine,however, it is to be understood that a base with beveled edges forconductive toys may be used, and function as intended without a toyfigurine mounted thereon. Furthermore, the term “figurine” is notintended to be limiting, as a base with beveled edges for conductivetoys may be used with any desirable conductive toy, such as toy animals,people, superheroes, creatures, and vehicles, as desired. Thus, it is tobe understood that the toy figurines shown in FIGS. 1-5, such as theknight of FIG. 1 and the wizard of FIG. 2, are merely exemplary.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a toy figurine 10 is shown mounted on a base100, and the base 100 is resting atop of a touchscreen 20. In thisexemplary embodiment, the toy figurine 10 is actually formed togetherwith base 100, but in other embodiments, figurine 10 may be mounted orcoupled, either permanently or removably, to base 100, as desired. Thefigurine 10 may also extend beyond the periphery of base 100, asdesired, so long as the base is able to act as platform between atouchscreen device and the toy figurine 10. For example, in theexemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the appendages of the figurine 10are configured to extend beyond the periphery of base 100, but base 100is still disposed substantially between touchscreen 20 and figurine 10.Preferably, the figurine 10 may be able to rest atop of the platformwithout any external support or stabilization.

Now referring to FIGS. 1A-B, a bottom perspective view of the base 100from FIG. 1 may be depicted. Since base 100 may be disposedsubstantially between the figurine 10 and a touchscreen 20, the base 100may be conductive, include conductive portions or pathways, or includeapertures to allow select conductive portions or pathways of orassociated with the figurine 10 to contact the touchscreen 20. Forexample, in FIG. 1A, base 100 may include apertures 130 which areconfigured to accept conductive portions 140 of figurine 10 in order tofacilitate conductive recognition. However, in other embodiments, and asseen in FIG. 1B (and better seen in FIG. 4), the conductive portions 140may be a separate part that is installed within the base 100 andcorresponds to the FIG. 10 resting atop of the base 100, so that thefigurine 10 may be identified when disposed on the touchscreen 20 (viathe capacitance from a user's hand traveling through the figurine 10 tothe conductive portions 140).

Accordingly, while the base 100 prevents the majority of figurine 10from contacting touchscreen 20, portions of or associated with figurine10 may still be able to contact touchscreen 20 so that touchscreen 20may at least recognize that figurine 10 is placed thereon (via thecapacitance from a user's hand traveling through the figurine 10).However, despite the use of the term “aperture,” in some embodiments theapertures 130 may not actually be apertures and, instead, apertures 130may simply be conductive portions or pathways of base 100. In theseembodiments, the apertures 130 may allow touchscreen 20 to recognize atouch when a base 100 is placed thereon regardless of the conductiveproperties of the figurine 10.

Now turning to FIG. 2, another exemplary embodiment of a base withbeveled edges for conductive toys is shown. As can be seen in FIG. 2,base 100 includes a top 102, a bottom 104 and a side wall 106 extendingtherebetween. The top 102 and bottom 104, which may also be referred toas the receiving surface 102 and contact surface 104, respectively, maybe shaped and sized as desired so long as the top 102 and bottom 104 areconfigured so that the perimeter of bottom 104 does not extend beyondthe perimeter of top 106, which may also be referred to as the peripheryof top 106. Due to this configuration, side wall 106 slopes inwardlyfrom top 102 to bottom 104 on all sides, regardless of the shapes of top102 and bottom 104. In other words, base 100 has a beveled edge providedby an inwardly-angled side wall 106.

Still referring to FIG. 2, the base 100 provides an example of how sidewall 106 is inwardly sloped such that it provides base 100 with abeveled edge. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2, the front portionof top 102 has a length of “d1” while the front portion of bottom 104has a length of “d2.” Since d2 is smaller than d1, the bottom wall 104may be oriented between the outer edges of top wall 102 such that sidewall 106 slopes inwardly from the edges of top 102 to the edges ofbottom 104, at least along the adjacent sides. While these exemplarydimensions only illustrate how certain sides of base 100 slope inwardly,this example is intended to be representative of every side of the base100 shown in FIG. 2.

Turning now to FIGS. 3, 3A, and 3B, the base 100 of FIG. 2 is shown froma closer perspective view. As can be seen, in this particularembodiment, side wall 106 includes a front face 106 a and a side face106 b, each of which extend from a top edge 108 that is adjacent to top102 to a bottom edge 110 that is adjacent to bottom 104. As seen inFIGS. 3A and 3B, due to the inward slope each of faces 106 a, 106 b,base 100 is substantially shaped as an isosceles trapezoid. Front face106 a has a top of length d1 and a bottom of length d2 while side face106 b has a top of length “d3” and a bottom of length “d4,” with d1 andd3 being greater than d2 and d4, respectively. Thus, provided that thebottom bases are disposed between the edges of the top bases of faces106 a, 106 b, side wall 106 will slope inwardly on both faces 106 a and106 b.

Still referring to FIGS. 3, 3A, and 3B, in this embodiment, an angle θis formed between the vertical axis extending from the edges of the topsof faces 106 a, 106 b and the legs of each face 106 a, 106 b. In otherwords, sidewall 106 is sloped inwardly at angle θ. However,counter-intuitively, the angle θ shown on face 106 a (FIG. 3A) definesthe slope of face 106 b, while the angle θ shown on face 106 b (FIG. 3B)shows the slope of face 106 a. Regardless, in this embodiment, theangles θ are the same, such that the bevel or inward slope of side wall106 is substantially the same around its entire periphery. However, itis to be understood that in other embodiments, the angles may besubstantially different on different sides, provided that the angleforms a desirable beveled edge. Regardless, an inward slope serves todiscourage a user from grabbing the toy on base 100 and, instead,encourages a user to grab the object by the toy FIG. 10, therebyencouraging a user to move his or her hand away from the touchscreen 20in order to prevent unwanted or accidental touches.

Referring next to FIG. 4, one exemplary embodiment of a conductive baseincluding a separately formed conductive portion 140 is shown. As can beseen, in this particular embodiment, the base 100 is collectively formedby a top 102 that is formed together with a figurine 10 and a bottom 104that is formed together with an inwardly-sloped sidewall 106. The bottomalso includes apertures 130 so that the conductive portion 140 maycontact a support surface or touchscreen device that the base 100 isplaced onto. By forming the base 100 in this manner, the base 100provides an interior cavity into which a conductive portion 140 may beinserted. Thus, in some embodiments, the conductive portion 140 could beeasily swapped out, thereby causing the touchscreen to associatedifferent identities or characters with the same figurine 10. Theidentities may be determined by the arrangement or number of conductiveportions included in conductive portions 140, which, as mentioned above,is described in more detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/053,550.

Now referring to FIG. 5, another exemplary embodiment of a base withbeveled edges for conductive toys is shown. In this embodiment, the base100 is rounded and includes a side wall 106 extending between a bottom104 and a top 102 that are concentric circles with radii of lengths “r2”and “r1.” Again, these lengths result in a side wall 106 that is offsetfrom the vertical axis at an angle θ, such that the side wall isinwardly sloped, again discouraging users from grabbing the toy by itsbase 100. Although this embodiment provides an angle θ, identical to theangle seen in the embodiments of FIGS. 2-3, it is to be understood thatside wall 106 may be sloped inwardly at any suitable angle, providedthat “suitable” simply denotes an angle which discourages a user fromgrapping the side wall 106. Furthermore, while the exemplary embodimentshown in FIG. 5 is circularly shaped, it is to be understood that thisshape merely serves as an example that base 100 can be shaped in anydesirable shape, provided it includes a beveled edge (i.e. an inwardlysloping side wall 106).

Referring again to all of FIGS. 1-5 generally, and as mentioned above,the beveled edge of the base 100, which has been referred to in thealternative as an inwardly sloping side wall 106, discourages a userfrom grabbing an object or toy to be used with a touchscreen device byits base. The beveled edge renders the base uncomfortable and, thus, mayurge a user's hand upwards to grasp the object on a more comfortablepart or portion, such as the figurine 10. At the very least, the bevelededges may simply encourage a user to grab an object with a base 100 bythe top surface 102 or top edge 110 of the base 100 in order to move atoy or object on a touchscreen. Any of these grabbing locations moves auser's hand substantially away from the touchscreen, therebysubstantially eliminating accidental touches and unwanted inputs andallowing a user to use a toy object on a touchscreen device with minimalmalfunctions.

It is to be understood that a base with beveled edges for conductivetoys may be fabricated from any suitable material, or combination ofmaterials, such as plastic, foamed plastic, wood, cardboard, pressedpaper, metal, supple natural or synthetic materials including, but notlimited to, cotton, elastomers, polyester, plastic, rubber, derivativesthereof, and combinations thereof. Suitable plastics may includehigh-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE),polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate,polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate(EVA), or the like. Suitable foamed plastics may include expanded orextruded polystyrene, expanded or extruded polypropylene, EVA foam,derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.

It is also to be understood that terms such as “left,” “right,” “top,”“bottom,” “front,” “rear,” “side,” “height,” “length,” “width,” “upper,”“lower,” “interior,” “exterior,” “inner,” “outer” and the like as may beused herein, merely describe points or portions of reference and do notlimit the present invention to any particular orientation orconfiguration. Further, the term “exemplary” is used herein to describean example or illustration. Any embodiment described herein as exemplaryis not to be construed as a preferred or advantageous embodiment, butrather as one example or illustration of a possible embodiment of theinvention.

Although the disclosed inventions are illustrated and described hereinas embodied in one or more specific examples, it is nevertheless notintended to be limited to the details shown, since various modificationsand structural changes may be made therein without departing from thescope of the inventions and within the scope and range of equivalents ofthe claims. In addition, various features from one of the embodimentsmay be incorporated into another of the embodiments. Accordingly, it isappropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in amanner consistent with the scope of the disclosure as set forth in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A base for a toy figure containing a conductivepath comprising: a receiving surface for a user's hand; a contactsurface for contacting a touchscreen device; and a sidewall extendingbetween the receiving surface and the contact surface, the sidewallsloping inwards from the receiving surface to the contact surface suchthat a user is encouraged to grip the toy figure at either the receivingsurface or a part of the toy figure.
 2. The base of claim 1, wherein thereceiving surface and contact surface are ovular.
 3. The base of claim1, wherein the receiving surface and contact surface are each polygonswith at least three sides.
 4. The base of claim 3, wherein the sidewallis a first sidewall and the base further comprises: at least oneadditional sidewall, each of the at least one additional sidewallsextending between each of the at least three sides, wherein the firstsidewall and the at least one additional sidewalls slope inwards at asame angle.
 5. The base of claim 1, wherein the contact surface furthercomprises: conductive portions, the conductive portions being configuredto be identified by the touchscreen device.
 6. The base of claim 1,further comprising: a figurine extending upwardly from the receivingsurface.
 7. The base of claim 6 further comprising: at least oneaperture extending through the contact surface; and the figurineincluding at least one conductive protrusion extending through the atleast one aperture to allow the touchscreen device to identify thefigurine.
 8. A base for a toy figure comprising: a top surface; a bottomsurface disposed within the outer periphery of the top surface, whereinthe bottom surface includes conductive portions configured to beidentified by a touchscreen device; and a sidewall extending between thetop surface and bottom surface that encourages a user to grab the baseat its top surface or portions of the toy figure disposed thereabove. 9.The base of claim 8, wherein the top and bottom surfaces each include aperiphery and the sidewall extends between the entire periphery of thetop and the entire periphery of the bottom.
 10. The base of claim 9,wherein the top and bottom surfaces are concentric circles of differentradii, the top surface having a larger radius than the bottom surface.11. The base of claim 9, wherein the top and bottom surfaces arepolygons with at least three sides, the sidewall is a first sidewallextending between a first side of the top and bottom surfaces, the basefurther comprising: at least two additional sidewalls extending betweeneach of the remaining sides of the top and bottom.
 12. The base of claim11, wherein the sidewalls extending between each of the at least threesides slopes inwards at a same angle.
 13. The base of claim 8, whereinthe base is integrally formed with a figurine, the figurine extendingupwardly from the top surface.
 14. A base for a toy figurine comprising:a contact surface configured to rest on a touchscreen device, thecontact surface including an peripheral edge; a sidewall extendingupwardly and exteriorly from the peripheral edge of the contact surface;and a conductive pathway extending through the contact surface such thatthe base may serve as a conductive conduit between a user touching thetoy figurine and the touchscreen device.
 15. The base of claim 14,further comprising: a receiving surface disposed above the contactsurface, the receiving surface being configured to receive a toyfigurine and the receiving surface including an outer periphery, whereinthe contact surface does not extend beyond the outer periphery of thereceiving surface.
 16. The base of claim 15, wherein the sidewallextends upwardly around the entire peripheral edge of the contactsurface and extends between the peripheral edge of the contact surfacean a non-peripheral edge of the receiving surface such that at least aportion of the receiving surface extends beyond the sidewall.
 17. Thebase of claim 15, wherein the toy figurine is received on a first sideof the receiving surface and the receiving surface further comprises:protrusions extending from a second side, the second side being oppositethe first side and substantially adjacent the contact surface.
 18. Thebase of claim 17, wherein the conductive pathway comprises: at least oneaperture formed in the contact surface, such that the protrusions mayextend through the at least one aperture, thereby conductively couplingthe figurine to the touchscreen device.
 19. The base of claim 15,wherein the receiving surface and contact surface are ovular.
 20. Thebase of claim 15, wherein the receiving surface and contact surface areeach polygons with at least three sides.